This Veteran Brewers Killer Is Available and Milwaukee Should Look to Add Him

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Dave Gasper | Last updated May 18, 2025 5:01 PM ET

Milwaukee Brewers fans shudder at the thought and memory of Chris Taylor. The flashbacks to 2018, in Game 7 of the NLCS, when the Brewers were on the verge of making a furious comeback to advance to their first World Series since 1982, then out of nowhere, a flying Chris Taylor makes a diving catch to rob Christian Yelich of extra bases.

It took the wind right out of the Brewers sails and they never recovered in that game. Since then, the Brewers have not even won a playoff series.

Now, seven years after Taylor crushed the dreams of Brewers fans, he finds himself on the unemployment line as he's been designated for assignment by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Brewers should try to sign Chris Taylor

Besides being a Brewers killer, Chris Taylor is also an extremely versatile baseball player. He has experience at all three outfield spots as well as second base, shortstop, and third base.

Offensively, the 34 year old Taylor, in the words of the late, great Toby Keith, ain't as good as he once was. This year, he's hitting just .200 in 35 ABs. Over his career, he's been an average to slightly above average bat that's good for 10-20 home runs a season.

There are a large number of veteran hitters with poor numbers in the early going of this 2025 season and it's not unreasonable to believe that Taylor could turn things around in a new situation with more consistent playing time. That's something the Brewers have the ability to offer.

Taylor should provide an improvement to the floor of this position player group. As a versatile veteran, you know what you're going to get and even at his worst, it'll likely be better production than what the Brewers have been getting from the left side of their infield.

Here's the rub, however. Taylor is in the last year of a four year, $60MM contract with the Dodgers. He's earning $13MM this year. If the Brewers were to pick him up on waivers, they would be on the hook for paying the remaining balance of his salary, which would be around $9.75MM. Plus there's a club option for 2026 with a $4MM buyout.

That'd be a steep salary price for an aging veteran, but that's only a price they have to pay if they claim him on waivers. If they wait for him to pass through and Taylor elects free agency, the Brewers can sign him for league minimum and the Dodgers are on the hook for the rest of his contract.

If the Brewers want to solve some of their depth problems on the position player side, which manager Pat Murphy has made clear he believes they have depth problems, bringing in Taylor would help that.

Bringing in another former Brewers killer, Jose Quintana, has worked well for the team this year. Why not go to that well again?

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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